After two delays, the revisions to Federal Policy for the Protection for Human Subjects (45 CFR 46), also known as the “Common Rule,” will now go into effect January 21, 2019.
The University of Michigan Medicine is notifying approximately 3,700 patients about a mailing error that resulted in letters containing personal health information to be sent to the wrong patients.
Q: When I returned to work after being out for a month on short-term disability, I was disciplined because of my doctor's excuse, which I only gave to medical but somehow was released to the human resources (HR) department. Could this release of my medical information to HR be a HIPAA violation?
Q: We're seeing an increase in the volume of medical record requests from external auditors. How can we ensure that the information in the records is accurate, timely, and available to meet auditors' demands?
Millions of medical records are sent to insurance companies every year by hospital and health system business office personnel to expedite claims payment, respond to payer audits, or fulfill other payer denial requests for information. And any time medical records are handled, HIPAA concerns come into play.
